This illustrated international bestseller follows a young boy's thrilling exploration of mathematics in his dreams.
"A natural follow-up to Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth and Jon Scieszka's Math Curse , covering more mathematical territory . . .[and] sharing the same daffy sensibility." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Bringing together the surreal logic of Alice in Wonderland and the geometrical wit of Flatland, and spicing it up with his own dry humor and passion for the magical properties of numbers, Hans Magnus Enzenberger deftly explains the basic concepts of math. In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, encounters a sly, clever number devil who introduces him to the wonder of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that mysteriously appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without end. As Robert-and the reader-venture deeper and deeper into this amazing dreamworld, ideas take flight and once-unfamiliar or difficult mathematical theories and principles become crystal clear.
A Los Angeles Times bestseller illustrated with whimsical full-color art, The Number Devil is a wonderful combination of knowledge, charm, and wit that will appeal to readers of all ages, from math phobics who fumble over fractions to match fanciers who can solve complex equations in their heads.
"Entertaining, amusingly illustrated. . . . Adults who know a little about math will find this book as enlightening as younger readers will." Martin Gardner, Los Angeles Times
"Charming. . . . We all might learn more if we each had an Enzensbergian devil to beguile us into a dream [and] to give us a glimpse of the beauty and power of mathematics." -John Allen Paulos, The New York Review of Books
Autorentext
Hans Magnus Enzensberger; Illustrated by Rotraut Susanne Berner; Translated by Michael Heim
Klappentext
The international best-seller that makes mathematics a thrilling exploration In twelve dreams, Robert, a boy who hates math, meets a Number Devil, who leads him to discover the amazing world of numbers: infinite numbers, prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers, numbers that magically appear in triangles, and numbers that expand without . As we dream with him, we are taken further and further into mathematical theory, where ideas eventually take flight, until everyone-from those who fumble over fractions to those who solve complex equations in their heads-winds up marveling at what numbers can do. Hans Magnus Enzensberger is a true polymath, the kind of superb intellectual who loves thinking and marshals all of his charm and wit to share his passions with the world. In The Number Devil, he brings together the surreal logic of Alice in Wonderland and the existential geometry of Flatland with the kind of math everyone would love, if only they had a number devil to teach it to them.